Memphis’ largest homegrown bank just wrapped up one of the best quarters in its 154-year history.

On Tuesday, First Horizon National Corp. reported after-tax profits surged in the third quarter to $270.2 million, an amount equal to 83 cents per share of stock.

First Horizon is a Memphis company whose only business, First Tennessee Bank, now ranks as the Southeast’s fourth-largest bank following the $2.2 billion purchase in December of Charlotte-based Capital Bank Financial Corp.

Third-quarter profits shot up on First Horizon’s sale of about 1 million shares of stock in the credit card company Visa Inc., the addition of Capital Bank to the First Tennessee fold and the overall strength of the Southeast’s economy.

“This is the strongest level of earnings we have seen in some time,” said William "BJ" Losch III, First Horizon chief financial officer.

Ten years ago, First Tennessee was wobbling. Then the banking company unwound from its disastrous First Horizon national mortgage business. Supported during the 2008-09 recession in part by the stability of FTN Financial, First Tennessee's financial services business, the company began to expand its regular banking business around cities such as Nashville, Charlotte, Houston and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Not counting the $161 million after-tax profit made on the Visa stock sale and other special items, First Horizon earned $118 million in the just-completed quarter, or about 36 cents per share including the regular business at Capital Bank.

Even without the Visa stock sale, the third quarter ranked among the better periods for First Horizon. In the same quarter last year, the company reported profits of $67.3 million, or 28 cents per share.

Purchasing Capital Bank was the largest in a number of expansions undertaken by Bryan Jordan, First Horizon chairman. He joined the Memphis company in 2007 as chief financial officer and became chairman of the board in 2012.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts Tuesday, Jordan was direct when asked if more acquisitions are coming. “The short answer is no,” Jordan said. “We’re focused on the footprint we have.’’

Bankers told analysts that First Tennessee’s successful strategy in Nashville and Middle Tennessee can be repeated in Capital Bank’s key markets in southern Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. That strategy includes branding, targeting segments of industry and building a talented employee base, Losch said.

Capital Bank operates as a brand of First Tennessee. The Charlotte bank operates under the Capital name in every state except Tennessee, where Capital branches have been renamed First Tennessee. First Tennessee loan production offices in cities such as Raleigh have been renamed Capital Bank except the Houston office continues under the First Tennessee name.

First Tennessee employs 6,000 people nationwide, including about 2,600 in the Memphis area, and has loans and other assets that total $40.6 billion. Loans totaled $27.3 billion in the third quarter, up from $20.1 billion a year earlier.